Four generations of the same family lost their homes in Los Angeles wildfires
Four generations of the same family all lost their homes in the still-raging Los Angeles wildfires.
Danielle Stone, 37, and her husband, Bryan Davila, 35, told the Los Angeles Times that the home they shared with their baby daughter, Melina, was one of thousands burned to the ground by the deadly Eaton Fire.
After evacuating, they moved to be with Stoneâs parents just a mile away â just to be forced to evacuate there, too. They also persuaded Stoneâs grandmother, Helena Montanez, to leave her home of 60 years.
The family found out Wednesday that all three homes were destroyed â hitting four generations, from Stoneâs baby daughter to the totâs 89-year-old great-grandmother.
âIt doesnât feel as real,â Stone told the LA paper. âYou go to sleep and you wake up and youâre like, âIs this real?ââ
The three burned-down houses were within two miles of each other in a region where the family has roots stretching back over 100 years.
Stone said she and her husband had bought their home â their first â in 2022 to be within a mile of her parents, who still lived in her childhood home. Their daughter was born a year after they moved in.
They were all forced to evacuate on Jan. 7, the day the fire was spread by fierce Santa Ana winds in Eaton Canyon.
Davila told his wife to pack on the understanding that they might never return, she recalled.
âBut even as I was saying that, Iâm thinking with that mindset ⊠you still donât really believe it,â Davila said. âA lot was lost, because honestly in my heart I thought Iâd be coming back home.â
They moved to Stoneâs parentsâ home â just for it to be clear the next morning that they would all have to leave, eventually moving to her grandmaâs home to get her to evacuate, too.
They eventually relocated to Davilaâs sisterâs home in Hacienda Heights.
Stoneâs parents raised her and her sister in Altadena after her grandmother settled and raised six children in the neighborhood.
âMy grandma sacrificed and did everything she could to build a safe home for her and her family,â Stone told the outlet.
âMy parents, you know penny for penny, saved and worked super hard to do whatever they could to create a safe home for me and my sister. For Bryan and I.â
Despite the wreckage, Stone says their family plans on rebuilding their home in Altadena. A GoFundMe to help the Stone, Davila and Montanez families rebuild has raised $108,825Â of their $130,000 goal.
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